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UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has knockout wins in each of his last two title defenses, having improved his stand-up by leaps and bounds over the course of his career in the promotion. But his biggest strength is still his wrestling, which he has used to overpower opponents for most of his UFC tenure.
Usman has never been taken down in the UFC and has landed almost half of his takedown attempts. Even some of the division's greatest grapplers haven't been able to solve the puzzle he poses. The following fighters have not been considered for this list because of how their first meeting transpired, even though some of them have improved since.
Demain Maia failed on all 15 of his takedown attempts when he fought Usman back in May 2018. Leon Edwards was taken down by 'The Nigerian Nightmare' six times when they met in December 2015, while Rafael dos Anjos hit the mat 12 times in November 2018. Tyron Woodley was thoroughly dominated in March 2019 as Usman wrenched the welterweight strap away from 'The Chosen One'.
Michael Chiesa and Nate Diaz are the other fighters in consideration. But while 'Maverick' has been submitted four times in the UFC, most recently against Vicente Luque, Diaz arguably doesn't have the werewithal to bring the fight to the ground in the first place.
So who can outgrapple Kamaru Usman? It would have to be an accomplished wrestler with a talented submission game, and here are three such UFC fighters.
#3 UFC welterweight Khamzat Chimaev
Khamzat Chimaev's credentials as a complete fighter are still under the microscope, with him having faced relatively mediocre competition in his UFC career so far. But 'Borz' is definitely one of the best wrestlers in the welterweight division.
Chimaev is a multi-time gold medalist in the Swedish Freestyle National Championships and started wrestling when he was five years old. Taking those skills to MMA, the 27-year-old has put together an undefeated streak in professional competition. With explosive takedowns, relentless top pressure and a constant search for submissions, he has rarely been in trouble.
Chimaev would certainly be a better wrestler than most men Kamaru Usman has faced in the UFC, and has also proved that he has a powerful submission game. Extremely strong, big and talented, he could give 'The Nigerian Nightmare' a real challenge on the mat.
#2 Former UFC welterweight title challenger Gilbert Burns
When Kamaru Usman is up against someone who poses a real threat on the ground, he usually doesn't even attempt to take them down. That's just what happened at UFC 258, where Usman faced off against former training partner Gilbert Burns.
As Burns tried to pull guard and engage in a jiu-jitsu battle with Usman, the champion was more than happy to stay on the outside and attack him with kicks. Usman refused to be drawn into a battle on the ground because the threat of the three-time jiu-jitsu world champion is simply too high, before securing a TKO win with a piston-like jab.
Burns had some success against Usman on the feet, though, as he dropped him in the first round before allowing him to recover. If he can match 'The Nigerian Nightmare' in the stand-up exchanges and somehow bring the fight to the mat, like he did against Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson - who incidentally has excellent takedown defense - he could outgrapple Usman.
Recent wrestler vs jiu-jitsu practitioner matchups in the UFC have ended in favor of the former, but Burns is a massively skilled grappler whom Usman clearly didn't want to engage with.
#1 Former interim UFC welterweight champion Colby Covington
Two-time NCAA Division I All-American and two-time Pac-10 champion Colby Covington will face off against Kamaru Usman later this year, looking to avenge his loss at UFC 245 back in December 2019.
Usman vs Covington 1 was mostly contested on the feet, with both men reluctant to fall back on their primary skill. Fighters like Michael Chandler have opined that the rematch will feature much more wrestling action than the first meeting.
So can Covington use the plethora of takedowns at his disposal to finally crack Usman's perfect defense? On paper, he has the ability to do so, having dominated men like Tyron Woodley, Robbie Lawler and Rafael dos Anjos with his relentless pressure, cage control and wrestling.
'Chaos' will also be wary of defending takedowns, which is something he did to perfection against Demain Maia back in October 2017. The 33-year-old is not only one of the most decorated wrestlers in the UFC but also extremely well-rounded in the department, leading us to believe that he can outgrapple Kamaru Usman.
